Spatial Disorientation - A Perspective
Abstract
I am honored to have been invited to give the keynote address to this symposium on spatial disorientation. Spatial disorientation (S.D.) is not a new problem in aviation and over the last 50 years it has been addressed on numerous occasions within the NATO community. Yet despite the increased understanding of the varied aetiology of S.D. and improvement in the display of information to the pilot to facilitate correct spatial orientation (5.0.), accidents, primarily attributable to S.D., continue to occur. Indeed, in the last decade the proportion of human error accidents in which S.D. was considered to be a primary or contributory cause of the mishaps has increased. This would appear to be due, at least in part, to the introduction of new technology, in particular night vision goggles, that has allowed flight operations in environmental conditions which previously were not possible. In the presentations to follow there will be descriptions of new technologies and training techniques that should aid the maintenance of spatial orientation (8.0.) in flight and reduce the frequency of S.D. incidents and orientation error accidents. But these benefits are likely to be tempered by new challenges arising from flight in high performance agile aircraft and unattended aerial vehicles - UAVs. The human factors and aeromedical community also need to be cognizant of S.D. in virtual reality environments as well as in those piloting UAVs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADP013844
Entities
People
- Alan J. Benson